


Dino AU-Tales

by anzhelo



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dinosaur - Freeform, Dinosaur AU, Paleo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26068975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anzhelo/pseuds/anzhelo
Summary: Alternate Universe where humans live alongside dinosaurs. A colorful array of steeds, but a deadly variety of enemies. These are just a collection of blurbs I've written for the au with no particular order. I'll specify at what point of the plot they take place.
Kudos: 11





	1. Argentinosaurus

**Author's Note:**

> I draw much more content for this AU on my tumblr;  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/woozydoozie/search/dino+au  
> This takes place during Shady Belle, and replaces the mess with O'Driscoll's attack on the camp.

Taima scooped her head from the stream, water trickling down her throat in beads. Three fat fish wriggled in her jaws, one flex of which sent them limp. She looked over to her rider, a chorus of deep clicks bubbling in her throat. Charles motioned her over, and the hefty creature lumbered to him, letting the fish slide into a basket. Charles moved the fish inside with his hands, getting them settled, before pulling a small one out for Taima. She cocked her head silently, neck tensing in anticipation for him to toss it. After a moment though, Charles returned it to the basket and grabbed a larger fish instead, hefting it upwards to be snapped up by Taima’s jaws. 

“You’ve earned it,” he chuckled, watching her head bob dramatically as she swallowed it whole, the glistening tail disappearing past her numerous sharp teeth. Charles placed his hands on his knees and stood up, grunting after being in the same position for hours. He had to be quiet while Taima hunted, not so much as to not scare the fish, but because she still excited easily. If he distracted her from the fish, she’d start bounding about the water thinking it was time to play. Then no one got dinner. 

Taima sat patiently as Charles put on her harness and saddle, tightening the straps around her course feathers. She playfully nibbled at his collar as he adjusted the buckles, and he gently pushed her beak away. Finally, he climbed onto the back of the large dinosaur, the saddle settled snugly in front of her hump. With a soft click, Taima stood to her full eight meter height and began trotting towards the clearing. 

They broke free from the vegetation just as a horrible bellow echoed through the field ahead of them. 

It was the death cry of a mandschurosaurus, its mournful wail dying in its bill. The allosaurus at the other end of its head released its neck from her jaws, running her tongue along her bottom teeth as she let out an almost inaudible purr. It was more felt than heard. Arthur jogged from the bushes, joining her with a skinning knife ready in hand. He didn’t acknowledge Charles as he plunged the blade into the thick hide of the hadrosaur, causing the other man to wince. He’d be happy to stick with fishing, thanks. 

Charles dismounted his beishanlong to greet Arthur, who was now butchering the carcass and playfully tossing bloody scraps to Princess. She danced about, snapping up the bits so forcefully the air popped. 

“Arthur,” Charles said expectantly, releasing Taima’s lead so she could distance herself from the rowdy allosaurus.

“Hey,” Arthur chirped, absentmindedly tossing a sliver of guts to Charles, which splat against his shirt before leaving a dark red stain behind as it slowly slid off. The two stared at each other for a silent moment before Arthur said, “fuck I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s...fine,” Charles strained, tentatively rubbing the fabric against itself, “nice catch today.” 

“Oh yeah, we’re eatin’ good,” Arthur chuckled, seemingly having already forgotten about his offense. He peeled back a massive sheet of leathery skin, almost three inches thick. He cut the sheet loose and pulled it aside, working through cutting free all the generous muscle. Charles admittedly felt queasy watching giant creatures get butchered. It was just..a  _ lot _ of guts. He kept his focus on Arthur. 

“You gonna need help moving all that?” he asked. Arthur nodded. 

“That’d be great; Princess gets grouchy when I make her carry too much. Dontcha girl,” he added warmly, tossing a thin strip of meat to his dinosaur. It bounced off of Princess’ rump. Arthur peered over at his mount. She and Taima both were staring over the treeline behind them, motionless. Now they noticed the quiet rumble building up from afar. Arthur stood up slowly, squinting at the horizon. Charles was staring too.

Then they saw it: obscured by clouds, the distant, slender neck of a sauropod. 

It was swaying with movement, the tiny head bobbing up and down as it drew closer. Two others came into view behind it, and the ground beneath them began to shake.

“Damn,” Charles muttered under his breath. Those were argentinosauruses. Massive creatures, and not easily come by. They were peaceful plant-eaters, but their sheer size made them dangerous to even approach. And this looked like a stampede. 

Arthur was fixated on the oncoming mass, but he quickly snapped back to reality as Princess anxiously nipped him. He slung himself onto her back; Charles had already mounted Taima and was looking at him with mild concern. 

“Think there’s a chance they won’t trample the carcass?” Arthur asked as they ambled towards the safety of the treeline. Charles grimaced and shook his head slowly. Arthur sighed. “Yer probably right…”

“We could hunt together tomorrow morning,” Charles offered. 

“I’d like that.” 

“...How far did those sauropods look, to you?”

Arthur clicked his tongue. “I dunno, probably only take them a couple minutes to reach this valley.”

Just as he said that, there was an ear splitting crash. A shadow fell over the two of them blocking out the sun entirely. They looked up in shock, an argentinosaurus was practically on top of them, rearing up. Its neck tapered into the sky, it’s head past the clouds, so high neither man could see it. It let out a deep bellow that echoed through the clearing before it’s front legs landed, shaking the earth so violently Arthur and Charles were nearly knocked off their mounts. They struggled to take off, before the ground shook again; the babies were stampeding through the clearing, accompanied by the massive adult that had just landed.

They lose each other immediately in the sea of leathery pale blue bodies. Arthur saw flashes of Taima’s black and white feathers, but Princess was struggling. She wasn’t fast or nimble enough to navigate through the stampede, and the rest of the adults were soon to be on their way. Arthur veered her to the right, where he last saw Charles. One massive, thick foot slammed to the earth inches from Princess’s snout, who recoiled in alarm and weaved around the gigantic creature. 

Dust clouded Arthur’s vision and he was forced to rely on Princess to navigate out of the herd. He pulled his bandana over his mouth to keep out the dust, which was already mingling with the sweat on his face and creating rivulettes of mud. They finally pushed through to the edge of the trees, where Charles was waiting. He let out a visible sigh of relief when he saw them, motioning them to hide among the vegetation. Arthur paused to look behind him just as a massive tail swiped a tree over, sending Taima and Princess in a panic and scurrying deeper into the trees, their riders just barely hanging on.

Charles yanked hard on Taima’s reins, slowing her to a halt. He loosened his grip and ran his hands through her neck feathers, trying to calm her down. 

“It’s alright girl,” he murmured over her agitating clicking, “they don’t wanna hurt you.” 

Arthur was having a harder time, Princess was bucking and twisting wildly. Still Arthur was trying to praise her. 

“You did— such a- such a good— job gettin’ us  _ outta  _ there-  _ shit!”  _

Arthur was flung roughly from the saddle, hitting the forest floor with a thud. Princess paced agitatedly, snorting at him. 

“You alright,” Charles said, sliding off Taima to help Arthur up. 

“All good,” he grunted. He whistled for Princess, who reluctantly returned to him. 

“Think we can go back for a closer look?” Charles asked. Admittedly he found the experience exhilarating, even if they had almost both been trampled. These massive creatures were a rare sight to behold, and even just the rumbling of the earth beneath them gave Charles that same rush of adrenaline. 

“If her majesty don’t mind,” Arthur said, entwining Princess’s reins in his hand. 

They led their mounts on foot back towards the edge of the treeline, watching the flood of gigantic bodies pass them by. The adults were in view now, and the herd was coming to an end. Charles squinted at them, a bad feeling forming in his gut. He turned to Arthur to ask if he saw it too, but based on the man’s face, he already had. 

Large chunks had been blown into the hides of many of the adult argentinosauruses. Not bites, but clear impact wounds of something man made. The ground had blood spatters the size of carriages. Someone with serious firepower had set the herd off. But why? 

Then they heard voices. 

A few meters behind the last straggler came utahraptors. A whole pack of them, all with riders. In the middle of the pack was someone riding a carnotaurus. Charles and Arthur didn’t need to see their faces to know these were O’Driscolls, and that carno must be Colm’s new pet. 

Charles looked at Arthur, who was already looking at him. They were herding the panicked sauropod herd, whatever reason that may be couldn’t be good. 

“I’ll warn the camp,” Arthur said, hopping onto Princess to head back towards the woods. Charles grabbed his shoulder. 

The patch back to the main road was westward, then a long stretch of road that went northeast to camp. It avoided that thick patch of woods, and a rather feisty swamp. Obstacles that meant nothing to a stampede of the largest animals on earth, who were being herded north. 

“They’re bringing them to the camp,” Charles snapped. Arthur’s eyes widened in realization and without thinking he shot out to the clearing, but Charles called for him to stop. 

“Princess can’t keep up with them,” he yelled as the allosaurus skidded to a halt, “Taima can. I’ll ride ahead to warn them, you shadow the O’Driscolls!” 

“Well—fine,” Arthur agreed reluctantly, knowing there was no time to argue, “just be careful,  _ please _ !” 

“I will,” Charles reassured him, hopping into Taima’s back, “don’t get shot.” 

Arthur took off with Princess, watching Charles and Taima rocket ahead of him.

Charles felt the earth quake again as he caught up with the sauropods, weaving into the herd before the O'Driscolls caught sight of him. He ducked his head low to Taima’s neck, eying the giant tails whipping overhead. They had reached the grassy hills just before the swamp, so the dust wasn’t as severe. When he reached the front of the herd, he veered away from the animals before he would mingle with the babies. He rode alongside them for a moment before Taima steeled ahead. It would take a while to lose them completely, and at this rate he didn’t have much longer until he reached the camp. The two flew over backroads, muddy, vegetated pools, splashing through the swamp with no regard for the creatures that awaited just under the mud. If they got stuck here, they’d surely be trampled by the herd. 

Mud and algae clung to Taima’s feathers, her beautiful black and white coat turned soggy and sickly brown. If they got out of this alive, Charles would have to help her clean every inch if he wanted to avoid her dramatics for the next month or so. He was soaked too, but at least he could change his clothes. Charles risked a peek behind him. It was like he was being chased by a living avalanche. He turned around again, heart pounding just a little harder. 

Finally they broke free into the valley just before the camp. Taima was panting raggedly, air wheezing from her open beak, but Charles had to push her on. The rumble of the herd was almost distant. He tore through the dirt road leading to the old house, where Lenny was on lookout duty. He flew by, the wind causing Lenny’s jacket to blow upwards as he frantically called for him to come back. Charles finally came to a stop in the middle of camp, where all eyes fell on him, and the pitiful sight that was an exhausted and filthy Taima. 

“ _ No time, _ ” he called out, voice surprisingly ragged, “ _ g-gotta move-! Run! RUN!”  _

His mount collapsed to the grass in exhaustion and Charles slid off of her, immediately running to the hitching posts where the camp’s dinosaurs were tied and setting them loose. The ground shook under their feet as the rest realized the gravity of the situation. People hurried past him while a couple helped Charles free the rest of the dinosaurs, who were stomping and calling out under stress. He could see Javier pushing Silver Dollar towards the safety of the woods, or at least trying to. The maiasaura was fiercely protective of the camp, and seemed to want to stay and confront whatever danger was on its way. Charles helped Javier, grabbing the reins and pulling Silver farther into the woods, while Javier ushered him on by the giant back hooves.

“Is that everybody,” Charles wheezed, watching the girls guide Taima into safety as well. He turned out to see Dutch, frazzled and sweaty, clearly about to ask what the hell was going on. 

The air seemed to explode as the first argentinosaurus broke through the trees, barreling into the old house like it was nothing. Dust and shards flew over the grass, battering Charles and the few that were still beside him. The massive sauropod tore into the lake, sending a wave over the tents. Ropes snapped and support beams toppled. Charles took off into the woods to regroup, hearing the excited jeers of the O’Driscolls not far behind. 

The camp huddled fearfully among the trees as the herd trampled their home. Their panicked trumpets and bellows softened as they settled into the lake, and Charles left to peek at the flatted ruins of their camp. 

There wasn’t a thing to salvage. Every square inch was flattered by the assault of the sauropods. But, they were all alive and accounted for. With not a minute to spare either. He was spoiling Taima to death once everything settled down again. His eyes fell on Arthur as he led Princess into the clearing, who was walking with a noticeable limp. Behind them the argentinosaurus sang gently to another, convinced of the danger passed.


	2. Spinosaurus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This bit takes place during the Rhodes ambush. Illustration for this chapter is in the notes at the bottom

The town was eerily silent. 

The soft crunch of four dinosaurs is what nudged its way through the stillness. Princess, a lean allosaurus, had the quietest movement. Only the slightest of thudding came from her padded talons. Baylock was to her right, a warty majungasaurus. His greater size made greater noise, but not much greater.  
Brown Jack, the baryonyx, was less suited for land. He was larger and heavier than the other three, and his thick paws dragged along the dirt road with a noticeable scrape.  
And finally was Ennis. A sturdier ride couldn’t exist, but that was all there was to say about the udanoceratops. He was an awkward creature, barely over five feet tall with a head seemingly too large for its body. His waddled clumsily alongside the carnivores, chittering quietly. Udanoceratops were classically bred for meat; the creatures were too slow and dull to make reliable steeds. And yet his rider had gotten a bit too attached to the clumsy animal. 

The riders themselves held a tense conversation. It carried onto their mounts, who huffed and nipped at each other. There were few people in town, but they scurried out of sight. 

Arthur glanced about the town, looking for movement. There were no dinosaurs about, no sauropods moving laundry, or utahraptors herding livestock, no compsognathuses pecking scraps or hadrosaurs sunbathing in the grass. There wasn’t even a single pterosaur on any of the roofs. 

“Hold up,” Arthur growled, halting Princess. The other two followed suit, turning to look at him. “This don’t feel right.” 

“It don’t feel right,” Sean mocked, “I coulda told you that-“

“Sh,” Arthur hissed, staring straight ahead. The men fell silent, trying to follow. There was the faintest of a strange gurgle, similar to the clucks Taima made, but much, much deeper. And very quiet. Arthur seemed to be the only one to hear it. And then it faded out, and a large dark shape that had previously blended into the line of buildings ahead of them suddenly slid out of view. 

Arthur couldn’t find his voice, and turned to Sean for help. 

A six foot long crocodilian snout was hovering from beside the saloon. Its teeth were black, red, and white, growing outward and interlocking along the jaw. Dark, jagged scales crawled all the way up to the peak of its nose, which was inches away from the nape of Sean’s neck. He looked over to the three men, who were all staring, mouths agape. 

“It’s quiet,” Sean said with impatience. The jaws opened with a meaty pop from its hinge and Sean whipped around just as the wicked teeth enclosed around him, and dug into Ennis’s sides. The poor creature squawked in pain and surprise as the monster lifted its neck, pulling the udanoceratops up only a few feet before the hide gave way and he fell back to the earth twitching, blood pooling from the cavernous mess where his back was. 

Arthur felt his voice return in a frenzied “NO!” as Sean thrashed within the monster’s grip. In full view now Arthur could see its short, thick limbs, large tail, and most prominently, the vibrant frill that ran along its back. Spinosaurus. 

He almost wished he didn’t hear Sean’s desperate sobs for help, muffled by the mouth of the creature. And then, with a flick of its lean neck, Sean was flung into the air, and he locked eyes with Arthur. 

As quickly as he was tossed, he landed back into the creature’s maw, landing just within the row of teeth. A spurt of blood exited from Sean’s mouth, alongside a whimpered gargle of surprise. The teeth he had landed on had pierced into the soft flesh just behind his chin, which then emerged up into his mouth. The spino flicked its head again, less forcefully now, wrenching Sean loose from its teeth with another ribbon of blood cascading from his mouth. He was trying to scream, but the blood that flooded his mouth would only let him choke and gargle. The jaws snapped shut as the neck worked to visibly swallow. 

Arthur couldn’t close his mouth. His body was trembling. He would’ve been snapped up as well if Princess hadn’t taken off seconds before the spinosaurus’s jaws smashed together where Arthur was. 

There were people from all sides now, shooting. Arthur could hardly process it. He felt sick. Sean wasn’t dead yet, that wound was grievous but not instantly fatal. He would suffocate, most likely, and it was happening now, and Arthur couldn’t do anything about it. He whipped around and fired a few desperate shots at the soft neck pouch of the spinosaurus. It knocked scales free, and a thin trail of blood leaked freely from the skin. But the monster looked no worse for wear. It stared Arthur down and began to scramble after him, jaws agape. 

Princess took off, weaving between buildings. Arthur could hear people inside, screaming when the spino’s massive tail struck a window or a support beam. He guided her towards the midst of the violence, hoping to use it momentarily. He was right; the spino barreled into the hired guns, sending a few off their mounts, and one poor allosaurus was crushed beneath it, bones cracking under the weight of the giant dinosaur. 

Arthur heard Micah or Bill, he couldn’t tell, taking shots at the spinosaurus. It did nothing, and Arthur couldn’t rely on Princess’s agility for long. They rounded a corner around a gunsmith, Princess snapping up one recovering gunman and cleaving his head free with her jaws. With another she charged a eotyrannus, Arthur shooting its rider in the throat as Princess closed her jaw’s around the mount’s neck, only clamping down once for the entire creature to go limp. 

Arthur checked back on the spinosaurus, it was hissing and batting at Baylock as he and Brown Jack encircled it. Despite their size they were both nimble animals, especially Brown Jack. He dodged a swipe from the spino’s tail, Bill cursing as he was violently lurched about. 

The spinosaurus pounced suddenly, crashing down onto Baylock, missing his body but crushing his tail. Micah tore himself free and frantically fled from his doomed steed, Baylock hissing as the spino snapped at his head. 

Brown Jack tore out from the other side and leapt, embedding his teeth into the throat pouch and hanging on as the spino bolted upright. The creature could not vocalize, and only rumbled in anger. Baylock wasted no time careening towards the back of the spinosaurus and leaping onto it, latching his teeth into the spines of its sail and tearing them loose. 

Arthur spurred Princess into a run, directing her to go for the throat alongside Brown Jack. Her slender snout opened wide with anticipation and Arthur buckled as the two bodies collided, Princess sinking her fangs deep and using her powerful legs to push and scrape against the spino’s belly. Heart pounding, Arthur wrenched himself free from the saddle and clambered up the neck of the creature, digging his hands into the deep scales for purchase. He prayed Baylock wouldn’t kick him off as he jammed the barrel of his rifle onto the eye of the spino. It’s neck twisted backwards in pain as blood and fluids burst from the socket, and Arthur pulled the trigger. 

The bullet didn’t even leave the skull, but Arthur wasted no time as the monster collapsed against the dirt. Princess watched curiously as Arthur produced his skinning knife and plunged it into the belly of the spinosaurus, ignoring the disgusted “Aw, Arthur,” from behind him. He sawed open the thick hide, accompanied by the pained hissing from the not yet dead spinosaurus. Pink meat blossomed from the wound as Arthur tore it from the base of the throat to the groin, blood pooling from the center of the cavern. To the further disgust of his peers, Arthur dug his arms into the wound, up to the shoulder, feeling about. His hand grabbed something soft but solid. He wrapped his fingers around it and pulled, suction giving way to bile and half digested fish spilling out around Arthur’s boots, along with Sean’s corpse. 

He was soaked in blood head to toe, and when Arthur laid him out he could see the bottom of his jaw was completely torn open, the tongue halfway down his throat. His left hand had been caught in the teeth as well during the last bite, the bone splintered and barely held together by threads of sinew and skin. Arthur’s vision grew blurry, his eyes felt hot and wet for some reason. He felt his core trembling as he hugged the corpse close to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://woozydoozie.tumblr.com/post/627258462590681088/dino-au-retrieving-seans-corpse-after-the-ambush


End file.
